Oprah Winfrey has given away cars and goodie baskets full of her "favorite things," but here's a new one: Daytime's top talk-show host recently gave an aspiring actor his big break.
As part of a recent "wildest dreams" episode of her show, Winfrey surprised Chicago's Paolo Presta with a walk-on speaking role on NBC sitcom Will & Grace. Presta had written Winfrey a series of e-mails and a letter with his headshot, expressing his desire to be an actor. Because of his dedication to the family business, a small chain of grocery stores in suburban Chicago, Presta was having a tough time making his dream come true. "Since he was young, Paolo lived for the stage. He had a part in every school play and found enough success in community theatre to be signed by an agent," Winfrey explained on the episode. "But after years of trying, his Hollywood hopes were wearing thin."
"I could never pursue [acting], because of the family business, even though I got a few gigs here and there," Presta told Back Stage West. "Well, Oprah came into my store and surprised me, had all my family there, and she says the reaction was the biggest reaction out of the 19 years she's done the show."
"You've written me a lot of e-mails," Winfrey told a flabbergasted Presta in the episode. "You can stop writing me e-mails now. OK? Because you have a big dream to become an actor."
Presta was flown to Los Angeles, where he met the cast of Will & Grace and taped an episode, set to air Dec. 9. "I played a lawyer," said Presta. "It was a scene with Debra [Messing] and Eric [McCormack]. I had a couple of lines. Because of this I got to join SAG. It's been so cool. It's been the best."
Presta was initially to have only one line on the sitcom, but writers were impressed enough with him to add an additional line during the taping of the episode. The Oprah episode documented Presta's time on the set and included well wishes from Will & Grace's cast members. "Hey, Paolo, all I want to say is, if I could come from Chicago as an actor and move out to L.A. and make it, anybody can. Much love and good luck to you," said Sean Hayes, who plays Jack.
Since the show aired, Presta's life has been a whirlwind. When he spoke to Back Stage West, he was planning on flying out to L.A. for meetings with agents. The actor also said he's aiming to move to L.A. in January. "Oprah opened the doors for me, and I'm just going for it--having fun and living my dream," he said.
And perhaps best of all, his family now completely supports his chosen career. "My parents are originally from Italy, and they always had a hard time understanding why I wanted to pursue this, so I just stayed with the family business," he said. "But ever since Oprah came into our store and all my siblings were there and my parents..... My dad said that was one of the happiest days of his life. Now they have a better understanding and they're very supportive. They're behind me."